


Turn To Ash

by Johniarty



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Ficlet, Gen, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 18:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3457496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johniarty/pseuds/Johniarty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coming home didn't go quite as Rumplestiltskin planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turn To Ash

**Author's Note:**

> Uh oh. Guess who's writing Rumbelle now. 
> 
> Jim sent me a picture of Belle and Will holding hands, and the little Rumple voice in my head went full President Snow on me. I had to write some angst to calm him down.

In his heart, Rumplestiltskin expected Belle to move on. Like Milah, Like Cora, the women he loved always saw him for the monster he believed he was, always  _left_ him. The dagger… That wretched, cursed thing, how could he love it above Belle? He didn’t - his  **weakness,** his greatest weakness wasn’t the love that gave him strength. It was the weapon that bound him, that took away his autonomy. 

And that is what the gauntlet showed. 

Speaking to her about his plans would have eased the situation, of that he was sure. If he’d told her how it felt to be used as a weapon against her, against his family - if he’d told her what Zelena  _did_ to him - perhaps she would have helped him find a way to free himself.

Instead she cast him out, and he returned with the might of the Queens at his back - only to find her bare fingers laced with Will’s. 

_Never twoo, was it? Did you really think she could ever love you? Foolish, foolish, such a pretty little dream… You deserve this, you know. Wretched thing. Wicked beastie. Safe, human, boring Will is just what your Belle needs. So happy, isn’t she? Look at that smile, you coward. Look at the colour in her cheeks. You were the first, you opened the world to her, and now after barely more than a month she’s moving on…_

"Quiet," Rumplestiltskin hissed, squeezing his palms over his ears. Funny how he regressed without her, when faced with the truth. If only he didn’t  _have_ a heart, if only he couldn’t    **  
f  e  e  l** … 

"Rumplestiltskin," Maleficent said firmly, glancing at him with an uninterested gaze, "you promised us a savior. Every second you spend staring at your serving girl -"

Her words choked to a halt as Rumplestiltskin waved his hand, capturing her tongue. “Belle is no  **servant** , dearie, and you’d do well to remember who wields the true power here. Even queens who wag their tongues will find themselves speechless… You’ll have your savior when I am good and ready to deliver her, and not a moment before. Do you  _understand_ , Queenie?”

As she nodded, he forced a plastic smile on his lips. “Good.” The tongue vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

If he got his hands on Will, he’d tear him apart. Piece by piece, putting him back together only to deconstruct his flesh once more. An eternity of suffering sounded good…

_If she would have left me dead, if she and Bae hadn’t brought me back, none of this would have happened!_

His return tasted bitter, as if his throat was coated with the ashes of his former bliss. For a few fleeting moments, his life had been perfect; now Bae was dead, now his wife had found another man - again - and all he had to show for his hard work was three wicked queens eager to stab him in the back.

There’d be no winning Belle back now. Might as well go all in. 

"… Come along, come along. We have work to do."


End file.
